Hollow mesoporous silica sphere supported cobalt catalysts for F–T synthesis

High dispersion Co₃O₄ nano-particles supported on hollow mesoporous silica spheres (HMSS) with bimodal pore distribution were prepared by “two-solvent” technique. As-synthesized catalysts were characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption–desorption, XPS, SEM, TEM, and H₂-TPR. The results showed that Co₃O₄ nano-particles were present inside the pore system of HMSS and the particles sizes increased with the increasing loaded cobalt content. The catalysts show good performance and high selectivity of C₅–C₁₈ hydrocarbon in F–T synthesis, which should attribute to the unique bimodal pore distribution facilitating reactants to access the active sites and to transport higher hydrocarbon products.